But he said he was buoyed by the fact that the championship was so close this year - seven different drivers have won in the eight races so far, with only Alonso managing two wins.

That is in stark contrast to last year, when Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel arrived at Silverstone 77 points clear after seven wins and a second place in the first eight races.

Button said: "If it was one person streaking away in the lead like Seb then it would be a big chunk to get back.

"But if I win this race and the Ferrari is not on pace here, it's a lot of points in the bag."

Button's problems have been rooted in getting the tyres to work on his car, but he said he was confident he was getting on top of the problem.

And he said he expected McLaren to be more competitive at Silverstone this weekend, where they have some upgrades to their car, than they were in Valencia two weeks ago.

"We do have a few [new] bits aerodynamically, and mechanically there is some stuff that is very exciting for here," Button said.

Button at the British GP

Jenson Button has yet to finish on the podium at the British GP in 12 attempts. Two fourths and a fifth are his best placings.

"But even without the bits I think we would have had a pretty good car around here.

"Looking at the last race everyone was quite excited by how quick the Red Bull was.

"Their pace was phenomenal and they had a big aerodynamic package and it worked in low-speed corners, which is an area where it is very difficult to get the car working aerodynamically.

"But they have worked out a way of doing it and at low speed they had very good downforce.

"But that shouldn't matter to us here because it's a high-speed circuit and it's high speed where the downforce works for us, so we should be competitive."

Button's team-mate Lewis Hamilton is third in the championship, 23 points behind Alonso, after struggling for pace in Valencia and then crashing out in the closing stages after a collision with Williams driver Pastor Maldonado.

Hamilton said he was "very, very excited" to see whether the upgrades give McLaren the step forward they are expecting.